Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-05-05
THE GEORGIA MAIDSTONE.
Used Successfully for over Hundred
Years.

Useu successfully for over Hundred
Years.
The recent death of man in Banks
county who had been recently bit by a
mad dog has revived interest in mad
stones, of which there are several in
various parts of the State. There is one
in Fairburn which is said to have been
successfully applied to about 100 per-
sons. But by all odds the most notable
stone in the south is that owned by Mrs.
ID. w. Gibson, in Columbia county. 1t
derives interest not alone from the won
derful cures which it has effected, but
from its antiquity and the manner in
which it came into possession of the
family.
In 1743 a vessel from the East Indies
touched the coast of North Carolina,
where the great-grandfather of Mrs.
Gibson's husband lived at the time.
A passenger who was sick was put off
and Mr.. Gibson took him to his home,
where the stranger was welcomed and
nursed back to health. When about
to take his departure he took from his
pocket two stones, one of which he pre-
sented to Mr.. Gibson telling him it was
of great age, as he had been assured by
the gentleman from whom he procured
1t in Bombay, that it possessed remar-
kable powers in all cases Of blood
poisoning, whether it resulted from
corrosion of foreign substances, from
the bites of animals or insects of any
description or from occulation. Even
in cases of smallpox, said the stranger,
the stone had been known to extract
poison from the system, leaving the
patient thoroughly restored to health.
The stone ls of grayish-black color
and perfectly smooth. 1t was one
inch in length, three-quarters of an
inch in width and half an inch thick.
The stranger disappeared, and the
stone was laid by as curiosity to re-
mind the family of its curious guest.
No faith was placed in its medicinal
qualities. 1t was not long, however, be-
fore an event happened which brought
the stone into high repute. A member
of Mr.. Gibson's family was bitten by q
rattlesnake. All known remedies failed.
The patient had passed into paroxysms
and all hope had fled. 1t was then that
one of the children thought of the mys-
teriOus stone. AS no harm could be
done, it was determined to use it. An
incision was made in the patients leg
one inch above the spot bitten and the
stone inserted. AS the stone adhered q
scream of unutterable anguish escaped
the lips of the sufferer, as if life itself
was being drawn out. In less than one
minute the stone had changed its color
from dark gray to poisonous looking
green. Itwas pulled out and soaked in
warm water and applied again and
again its adhesive power growing less
and less until at last it refused to stick.
By this time the patient fell into a
heavy sleep, only to awake to con-
sciousness of restored health. He lived
for thirty years after the event happen
ed. 1t was thus jest, became an object
which money could not buy. From all
parts of the coast there were calls for
the wonderful stone. The family sub
sequently removed to Columbia county
in this State, where for 100 years this
stone has been an object of curiosity to
physicians and people in general.
The recent history of this remarkable
stone is quite as strange as that of its
earlier years, curing the bites of mad
dogs and cats, the stings of scorpions
and snakes and the inoculation of
poisonous substances. In 1872 Abe
colored man in Columbia
county, was bitten by pilot
snake. The stone was applied to the
bite. The wonderful part of the story
is that the man who had inherited scrO-
fula was cured of that disease, and has
had since no return of the malady.
Seven years ago Shack Green, who
lived nine miles away, was bitten by a
When found he was un-
concious. He was put into a wagon
and driven the nine miles to the home
of Mrs. Gibson. By that time the VIC
tim"s leg had swollen to three times its
usual size. AS soon as the stone was
applied it affected the sufferer precisely
as it had it's first subject over century
before. A case which attracted wide
spread attention, however, was that of
Miss Williams, who lived near the plan
tation of Gen. Robert Toombs, in
Wilkes county, In 1883 Miss Williams
was inoculated from virus obtained from
a mad COW. When the fact was discov-
cred it sent shock through the com
The lady's friends at once re-
solved to use Mrs. Gibson's Maidstone,
which was entirely successful in work.
ing off the anticipated danger. A
strange case, however, was that of the
two grandchildren of Mrs. McGinty.
of Norwood, who had been bitten and
scratched fearfully bya mad cat. The
stone was applied to the two alternate
ly. The children were taken to the
house by their two uncles, who, sixty
years before, had been themselves BIT
ten by mad dogs and owed their rescure#
to the same source.
In fact there is hardly community
in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama
in which the fame of this removed stone
has not been heard of. Frequently the
country home Of Mrs. Gibson at Appling
is surrounded by vehicles bearing the
afflicted from distant points anxious to
be restored to health.-Atldnto Consti-
tuition.
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